Buddy Hield led the way for Sacramento as the Kings enter the win column once again with their 115-108 win over the New York Knicks.

Hield dropped 28 points on 9-18 shooting and Harrison Barnes added a 22 point, 10 rebound double-double.

The Kings had some double-digit leads but the Knicks kept fighting back to make it interesting, despite getting blown out by the Los Angeles Clippers the night before. Allonzo Trier scored 29 points for New York but it wasn’t enough and the Kings are now 32-31.

Quarter-by-Quarter Recap

The Kings came out in the first quarter and dropped 34 points. It was good to see the team shoot 6-10 from three as they have been struggling from behind the line in the last few games. Harrison Barnes knocked down his two three point attempts and it was also good to see Nemanja Bjelica hit his first three point attempt. Buddy Hield was doing it all for the Kings with 10 points, four assists, three rebounds and a steal in 12 minutes. Barnes had seven points and Willie Cauley-Stein stole the ball twice leading to dunks. Rookie Kevin Knox led the Knicks with six points in nine minutes.

The Kings played poor in the second quarter as their 11 point lead quickly squandered and the Knicks kept it close for the rest of the quarter. The threes stopped falling for the Kings as they fell to 7-18 overall. The Knicks received a big boost from Allonzo Trier off the bench, who scored 13 points on 5-8 shooting and went 2-3 from three. Barnes missed two three pointers and Hield drifted off to 1-6 from three. Hield finished the half as the team’s leading scorer with 13 points on 5-13 shooting and also led all players with five assists. The Knicks outscored the Kings 26-21 to make the game 55-51 at the half.

Sacramento outscored New York 31-29 and saw their lead crawl back up to ten late in the third quarter. However, the Knicks got four points back and ended the quarter trailing 86-80. Hield continued to lead all scorers with 23 points on 7-16 shooting and took his assist total to 6. Barnes was also huge for the Kings as he scored 20 points on 6-12 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds. Fox threw down a fast break windmill dunk en route to 13 points on 4-10 shooting. Trier led the Knicks with 19 points.

The fourth quarter wasn’t the prettiest and Harry Giles ended up getting ejected on a flagrant 2 call. He was trying to establish position in the paint but elbowed Luke Kornet in the head and was called for a foul. Upon further review, the refs tossed him out. It was a shame because Giles was playing really well, too. The Knicks stayed fighting and got to the line with Trier ending up shooting free throws almost every possession. In the end, the Kings break their three game skid and go to 32-31 on the season.

Best Players

Buddy Hield scored 28 points on 9-18 shooting in 35 minutes, despite shooting only 3-8 from three. He filled up the stat sheet with seven assists, six rebounds, two steals and a block. Great all around game by Buddy.

Harrison Barnes has had three solid games in a row including this one. He finished with 22 points on 7-13 shooting overall and 3-6 from three along with 10 rebounds and one assist in 37 minutes.

Before getting ejected, Harry Giles was balling. In 22 minutes, Giles recorded 17 points on 7-9 shooting, seven rebounds and two assists. He is stepping up in a major way as Marvin Bagley gets better from injury.

Willie Money Watch

In 26 minutes, Willie ended with nine points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals. He shot 3-8 from the field. Missed layups around the rim continue to be a problem.

Notable Stats

Nemanja Bjelica had a solid game in 24 minutes off the bench today. He finished with eight points, five rebounds, five assists and shot 3-7 overall (2-5 from three.)

The Knicks out-rebounded the Kings 48-43. The Kings had more assists at 28-17.

Sacramento was 26-33 from the free throw line, good for 79%. Another solid day at the line for a team that struggles there.

The Knicks had more fast break points at 21-18.

Next Game

The Kings finish the homestand against the Boston Celtics this Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. (PST). The Celtics will be on a SEGABABA as they play the Golden State Warriors tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. (PST).